Playing attachment for zithers



Feb. 6, 1923.

C, H. NOBBS. PLAYING ATTACHMENT FOR ZxTHERs.

FILED Nov. 24, 1917. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3 {Trne/77213011' Patented Feb. 6, 1923.

UNITED STA-'TES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE H. NOBBS, OF QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 THE PHONOHARP COMPANY, OF EAST BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

PLAYING ATTACHMENT FOR ZITHERS.

Application tiled November 24, 1917.

To all toll/0m oit/:ity confiera.'

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. Nouns, a citizen ot' the United `States', residing at Quincy, in the county ot Norfolk and State ot hlassaehusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Playing Attachments for Zithers, oi' which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to playing attaclnnents for Zithers of the type in which,

' actuating member and by which certain other desirable results are secured.

According to the present invention, each hammer-actuating .member is so constructed and locater'l in reference to the associated spring hammer that, when the latter is at rest. its `tree end is engaged and held under tension thereby, and, when saidl member is actuated, it impels the head of the hammer towards the string. This member may be iilirectly engaged by the finger ot' the player or it may be operated through the medium olf a separate linger-piece. associated therewith.

Referring to the accon'ipanying drawM ings,

Figure 1 represents in plan View a portion ot a Zither ).novided with one embodiment ot.' my invention.

Figure 2 represents a longitudinal section on the line 2 2 ot' Figure 1, this view being on a larger scale.

Figure 3 represents a section on the line il of Figure Q.

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the support and portions of two hammers attached thereto.

Figure 5 is a plan view ot a portion ot a Zither having applied thereto another embodiment ot the present invention.

Serial No. 203,675.

Figure 6 represents a section on the line 6-6 of Figure 5.

F igure T represents a section on the line 7-7 of Figure 6.

Figure S represents a section on the line S--S ot' Figure 7.

Figure i) illustrates a portion olf a Zither, provided with a third embodiment ot the invention.

Figure 10 represents a section on the line 10 of Figure 9.

Figure 11 illustrates two ot the hammers. the actuating members therefor and the linger-pieces for operating said members, all in plan View.

Figure 12 illustrates one of the spacers which is employed in the attachment.

Since the invention does not reside in the construction of the Zither' itself, I have not illustrated a complete instrument, but of course it will be understood that it may be ot' any suitable form and that it will be provided with the usual melody strings, and, it desired, with the several groups of chord strings which it .is customaryA to employ.

In Figures 1, 5 and 9, I have shown a portion of a Zither, the body otl which is indicated as a whole at 20 and which is provided with tour groups of chord strings 21, and with melody strings 22 strung to provide a diatonic scale of two octaves. Although I have shown two strings for each hammer which are tuned to the same pitch, l will, for the sake ot simplicity, describe the playing attachment as though there Were but one string for each hammer.

Referring now to Figures l to 4 inclusive, it will be observed that associated with each melody string there is a spring hammer which 'consists of a head Q3 of wood or metal, preferably metal, and a resilient shank consisting ot' a leaf spring 24. These springs are all'seeured at one end by any suitable means to a support so as to leave the headed ends free to vibrate. The support comprises a bar 25 arranged substantially in parallelism with the sounding board 26 ot the Zither and crosswise of the strings, and it .is located at the end of the instrument, being attached to the body thereof by any suitable means. As shown, the support may be provided with upright supporting members Q7 resting upon the sounding board and it may be attached to a metal case 2S secured to the end wall 29 of thev body of the. Zither by fastenings 30. ln cross secu tion, the support bar Q5 is of the shape shown in Figure 2; that is to say, is provided alc.`I g the inner margin with an upwardly swelled or convoi; portion 3l., and the hammers are fastened at points in the rear thereof so that the hammers normally extend longitudinally of the strings but are at an angle thereto so' that their heads are relatively remote from said strings. lllhen the hammers are depressed, they are bent around the curved sijuface lof the convex portion of the support, as illustrated in the last-mentioned ligure.

.fissociated with each hammer there is a member which is indicated as u whole at 'llhese members l have termed llanmier-artiiating members but they also serve other pin poses as will be described. lllach of these members, as illustrated in. Figures l to 4i inclusive, consists of a bar arranged longitudinally of the hammers and lying directlyr thereabove. They are all pivoted upon a pivot 33, which may consist of a cylindrical rod or wire., the ends of which are mounted in blocks 34 located upon the rear portion of the crossbar lilo tween the several members 32, there are spacers 85 likewise affixed to the bar .5 and to a top bar 39. Each member at its free end rests upon and is supported by its associated hammer and is shown as provided with a strip of cushioning material 36 for engagement with the free end of the hanr mer, or, if desired, with the head thereof. Between its ends, each member 32 is formed with a downward or lateral projection 37 for engagement with the spring intermediate of the head and lined end of the latter. when the member is depressed. lt will thus be seen that, when t-he member is moved towards the string, the free end thereof will impel the head of the hammer towards the associated string); and that thereafter the projection will engage the spring- "barili of vthe hammer and force it towards the string.l To limit the movement of the men;- ber towards the string.I it is arranged to ongage the support To this end, it is proe vided wth a block or strip 3S of cushioning` material so as to `cleaden the impact upon the support. It makes no difference` whether the member is stopped in its movement toward the string by its engagement with the support 25 or with that portion of the spring shank which rests at that time upon the support. ln the present instance, the cushion 38 on the member engages the shanlr ot the spring near its fixed portieri at a point whore it is bent over the convex surface of the swelled portion 3l of said support. ln any event, the movement of the member 32 toward the string is limited and the member comes to a state of rest at a point where it all constitute a support.

is approximately parallel with the string, as shown in lligure 2. lhe projection 37 on the member defines the node of vibration of the free end of the hammer and performs` the function of a stationary rest against which the spring shank is pressed by the resiliency of that portion which lies between the projection 3? and the fixed end of the said shank. As soon as the hammer-admit ing member is released, the resiliency of the spring hammer returns said member to its normal inactive position, and, as the said memberl swings upwardly about its pivot., the head of the hammer engi es the free end; thereof and is held against vibration. lilacli. hammer actuating member, as thus described, performs several functions. lt actuates the hammer, impelling the .free weighted. end thereof toward the string so as to cause it to impinn'e thereon with considerable force; it provides a rest or temporarily fixed member about which the headed end of the hammer vibrates; and it also serves a stop to damp the vibrations of the hammer when the latter has been re` leased and permitted to return to normal inactive position. rlllius the single member performs the functions which hitherto required at least two if not three separate members or parts.

y lt is not essential that the invention broadly should. talre the form which has thus been described. ln Figures 5 to 8 inclusive. l have illustrated another embodiment of the invention in which the several parts are constructed somewhat differently from those which l have described. ln these figures, the spring hammers are not afliiled to a sta-- tionary support, but their relatively fixed ends are attached to the hammer-actuating mem-bers. ln these figures, each 'of the hammer-actuating` members is indicated as a whole at s0. lt consists of a bar movable about a fixed pivot l-l, and it is provided at its pivoted end 'with a downwardly extending arm -f-l The pivot or rod 4l is secured to blocks l?) arran ed within a .metal case els*- attached to the end of the instrluneat. lWithin the case, there is the cross bar elio. a top bar and a lower or stop bar Li7, as shown in Figure 8.

The end block 4.3 and the bars 45, 4G, l? To maintain the hammer-actuating members in their spaced relation, spacers a8 are placed between them. rEhe arms l2 of the hammer-actuating` mem bers are limited in. their movement in opposite directions about the pivot el by the bar l5 and the bar 47', so that said hammer-actuating members can occupy only the extremes of movement indicated in Figure G. The shanhs of the hammers in this case rest upon a 'transverse rod 50, the ends of which are fixed in ears 5l formed on the enos of the case 44;, and the rear ends of the shanlie are forced into slots formed in the arms 42 of the hammer-actuating members. As a result of this construction, the resiliency of` the spring hammers between their points of engagement with the cross rod and With the arms of the hammer-actuating members is such as to cause said hammers to assume a normal inactive position with the free ends of said members relatively remote from the associated strings and with the arms 4t2 in engagement with the stop bar 17. The free ends of the hammers also, when said members are in the position last described, engage cushions 52 on the under side of the ends of said members and assist in holding said members in their inactive position. lletween their ends the hammer are provided with downwardly extending projec tions 53, which, 'when the hammers and members are in inactive position, do not engage the spring shanks of the hammers.

but which, when the members are depressed, eventually engage the spring hammers at points relatively near the cross rod 50 and force the hammer into engagement with the strings. After a hammer head strikes the string, the headed end of the hammer thereafter vibrates about said projection There are lugs or flanges 54 on the projections which straddle the hammers and assist in preventing lateral dislocation thereof. The hammer-actuating member in the prescnt case performs the functions performed by the equivalent hammers in the construction first herein described.

Referring now to the construction illus trate'd in Figures 9 to 12 inclusive, spring hammers and hammer actuating members are employed not unlike those last described, but, in addition thereto, I employ keys for actuating said members. In this construction, the support comprises a bar and an end block 61, which may be formed of wood or metal as may be desired, and which may be attached to the body of the instrument in any suitable way. The Shanks 24 of the spring hammers rest upon the cross rod 62 and their ends are secured in slots iu the arms 63 of the hammer-actuating members 6l. Said members 64 are pivoted upon a pivot 65, and are spaced apart by spacers 66, of which one is shown in Figure 12. Each hammer-actuating member is provided with a cushion 67 at its free end for engage ment with the hammer head to prevent the vibration thereof when it is returned to inactive position after having been actuated. Each hammer-actu ating member is likewise provided with the rest or projection 68 to perform the functions of those indicated at 37 and 53 in the two actions hereinbefore described. The keys for operating the various'hammers are pivotally mounted upon a pivot 69, which, like the pivot and the rod 62, is arranged transversely of the strings. .Each key is angular in side elevation and is pivoted at its forward end. The rod 69 is in a vertical plane in front of and somewhat remote from the vertical plane of the pivot 65, as shown in Figure 10. The tension of the spring hammers when they are in inactive position is sufficient to hold the members 64 against the keys and also to hold the keys with their free ends raised. The rear top portion of each member is flat and each key has two fiat surfaces on its under side which form an obtuse angle. Each member 64 extends under the pivot 69 and the free end of each key lies above the pivot Consequently, when the free end of a key 70 is depressed, it swings thc key-actuating member downwardly about the pivot 65 until the rear portion of the key .rests upon the flat top surface of the member. Upon releasing the` key, the hammer returns to its initial position in engagement with the flat surface of the forward end of the key. Thus the hammer and the pivot 65 limit the downward movement of the key, and the key and the pivot 69 limit the upward movement of the member 64. To deaden any sound that may be caused by the operation of the parts, each key is provided at its forward portion with a cushion 71 and each hammer is provided at its rear portion with the cushion 72. When one of the keys 70 is depressed or moved downwardly about the pivot 69, the free end of the hammer-actuating member is moved towards the body of the instrument. The free end of said member impels the hammer head toward the string and the spring shank of the hammer is bent about the rod 62. The projection 68 of the hammer-actuating member serves as a rest about which the free end of the hammer head vibrates. Increased tension is placed upon that part of the spring which lies between the pivot 62 and the arm 63 of the hammer-actuating member. may be released after the hammer head has struck the string one blow or it .may be held depressed to cause the hammer head to vi bra te rapidly against the string and produce a trill or tremolo. As soon as the key is released, the hammer returns the hammer actuating member and the key to their normal inactive positions, and the engagement of the hammer head with the cushion 67 on the member 64 effectively prevents the hammer from vibrating on its return to inactive position.

In all of the actions which I have herein described, the hanimer-actuating member performs the function indicated by the term which I have used in` connection therewith` and in addition it serves as a stop to prevent the vibration of the hammer Vwhen the latter has been released and returned to inactive position the hanimer-artneting member im- The key pels the head or the hammer toward the string upon the initial movemeiit oi' the hammer-actuating member; and, lby reason oit the rest or projection which engages the spring sliaiii ,said member 'auses the completion ot the movement oi? the hammer head toward the string and defines the node of vibration of the headed end olf the. spring hammer. j

Having thus explained the nature orA my said invention and described a way or malring and using the same, although without attempting to set Jforth all or the forms in which it may be made or all or tl modes of its use, what l claim is:

l. A playing attachment 'lor aithers, comprising a plmfality o'l`Y spring hammers, a

plurality et actuating memliiers associated with said hannners, and a pivot 'for -said members, said members extending in the same direction as said hamin'iers and having their free ends engaging'the iree ends of said hammers when the latter are in their normal inactive positions to hold said hammers trom vil'iration, and a. projection on each member 'i'or engaging the spring shank ot the associated hammer and about which the i'iree end ot the hammer may vibrate.

2. A playing attachment ior Zithers, comprising a` spring hammer, an actuating inember associated therewith and having a tree end normally engaging the headed end of the hammer, and a projection on said membei for engaging the spring shank of said hammer and about which the tree end oit the hammer may vibrate.`

3. .zi playing attachment for' Zither" comprising a spring hammer, an actuatingY member associated therewith extending in approxia'tely the same direction and having a 'tree nd normally engaging the head or said l hammer, a pivot for said member, said hammer being attached to said member adjacent the pivotal point thereof, and a. stationary support tor said hanimer independent or said member.

' i. A, playing :.*ttachment 'for zithers, comprising a spring hammer, a pivoted actuating member extending iengthw i, oit the hannner and lniving a tree end normally engaging the headed end thereof, a pivot for said member, and a projection on said member intermediate its ends for` engagingsaid spring hammer intermediate `the ends thereof and about which the 'free end of said hammer may vibrate.

A playing attachment Jfor zithers, comprising a'. spring hammer, a. pivoted actuating membery extending' lengthwise of the hammer and having a tree end normally enthe headed end thereof, a pivot for said member, a projection on said member for engaging said spring hammer intermediate the ends thereoil and about which the free end oi the hammer may vibrate, and means for limiting the actuating movement oit said member.

6. A pia-ying attachment ttor zithers, comprising a spring hammer, a. pivoted actuating member associated therewith and having a 'tree end normally ene'aging the headed endthereof, a projection on said member for engaging the hammer between the ends .thereof and about which the ree end of the 'string on the initial movement or said member, said member' having a projection for engaging said spring hammer intermediate the ends thereof and completing the movement oil the headed end 'of said hammer against sait. string on urther movement or `said member.

8. if?. playing attachment for zithers, 'comprising an actuating member yand a headed spring` hammer associated with one or the strings, a pivot. for the rear end or the aotuating member, the rear end oi the lhammer being attached to the pivoted end or the said actuating member and its headed end normally engaging the free end of the said members and a i'iXed member engaged by an intermediate portion of `the spring hammer and about which thevspring hammer may be bent by the actuating member.

9. t playing attachment Jr'or Zithers, comprising an actuating` member and a headed spring hammer associated with one or the strings, a pivot for the rear' end oi the actuating member, the rear end of the hammer being attached to the pivoted end ot the said actuating member and its headed end normally engaging the 'free end of the said member, and a transverse. member engaged by an 'intermediate portion of the spring hammer, said actuating member having a projection for engaging the hammer iat a point between the transverse member and the hammer head. f

' l0. A playing attachment for Zithers, comprising a. headed spring hammer, an actuating member pivoted at its rear end and nrormally having its tree end extending in the direction oit and engaging the headed end or the hammer, a projection on the said member for engaging theshank or the hammer intermediate or' the' ends thereof, and a key for oj'jerating the actuating member.

il. "A playing attachment for zithers,

comprising a cross rod, aheaded spring hammer resting at a point between its ends on the cross rod, a pivot parallel with and in the rear of the cross rod, and an actu` ating member pivoted at one end of the pivot and connected at its pivoted end to the rear end ot the hammer, said member having a projection for engaging the hammer in front of said cross rod t0 operate the hammer.

12. A playing attachment for zithers, comprising a cross rod, a headed spring hannner resting' at a point hetWeWen its ends on the cross rod, a pivot parallel With and in the rear ofi the cross rod, an actuating member pivoted at one end on the pivot and connected at its pivoted end to the rear end of the hammer, said member having a projcction for engaging the hammer in front of said cross rod to operate the hammer, a

rearwardly extending finger-piece for operating said actuating member, and a pivot for the front end of said finger-piece.

13. AA playing attachment for zithers, comprising a plurality of spring hammers, a plurality of pivoted actuating members, a

pivot rod therefor, a plurality of cushions projecting from said members and normally holding the free ends of said hammers from vibrating, means for limit-in g the movement of said members about said pivot rod, and projections on said actuating members intermediate of the ends thereof about which the headed ends of the hammer may vibrate.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature.

GEORGE H. NOBBS. 

